Returning Coronation Street star Sam Robertson has given a candid and honest assessment of his previous stint of the show ahead of his long awaited comeback. Admitting that he was still developing as an actor when he first played Adam Barlow, the star admitted that he was only persuaded back to Weatherfield because Adam would have more depth this time – as well as the reputation of his new boss Kate Oates.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk ahead of the episodes which see him spin back onto the cobbled streets in a Jag, Sam said: ‘I think I’m very different as an actor compared to when I left the show. I class myself as an actor now whereas when I left, I felt like I was a trainee or a runner of some kind, I was pretty useless wasn’t I!?

‘So yes, it was good to do that because I felt a lot more confident and secure as a performer but I was back in this old environment, which brought back memories of being the opposite. So it was nice to actually be able to express myself a bit more and I felt a that okay, maybe this will work.’

He added: ‘I think the character’s more fully formed. When he first came to the show, no-one knew even what his second name was, sometimes I’d get a script and it would be Adam Baldwin and then the next week it would be Adam Barlow. One minute, I think the idea was that he was going to be a bit of a cool kid, a hit with the ladies, and then the next minute he was a little bit bookish and a bit nerdy, I don’t think anyone quite had an idea what to do with him and I felt that really.

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‘I never got the momentum going from that beginning and ultimately decided it would be best if I left. So for it to come back again, I wanted to have assurances that it was going to be a lot more fully formed and a lot more involved and already that’s clearly happened, so for me it’s a lot more exciting to be here this time than it was last time.’

Adam comes back to the Street with some secrets – and is immediately rubbing up certain people the wrong way, with clashes unfolding with Robert Preston and the Connors. Excited about the drama ahead for his alter-ego, Sam told us of his joy at working with Kate.

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He explained: ‘I actually said to Kate that my mum is always my reference for soaps and I trust her eye, and I watched all the soaps back and I said to my mum, “I think Emmerdale’s a bit better than Corrie at the moment” and she went “Yeah, it’s Emmerdale’s producer that’s moving to Corrie.” I was like “Aah, that’s alright then.”

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‘I told her the first day I met her. I thought Emmerdale was fantastic when I watched it and I thought Corrie was a bit lacklustre and I was a bit concerned about the direction it was going in, so when I heard that Kate was coming in and it was her going to be editing, I was more excited about the prospect of coming back.’